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Squall line tornadoes are sneaky, dangerous and difficult to forecast

Science News
Summary
Nutrition label

85% Informative

Squall line tornadoes are ephemeral and often evade detection, forming and dying in the interludes between the scans of most radar systems.

They are generally less intense than supercell tornadoes, but that doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous, says atmospheric scientist Karen Kosiba of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign .

The southeastern United States is particularly vulnerable to squall line twisters.

Squall line tornadoes appear to be more common than researchers previously thought.

They may be more fierier than previously thought, says PERiLS researcher.

Researchers have observed that they tend to be wider than supercell tornadoes; perhaps that’s because many house subvortices are in a tornado.

Researchers used lidar instruments to monitor the atmosphere in the hours before a squall line’s arrival.

At different levels of the lower atmosphere, vertical wind shear grew larger, inducing more rotation.

Data suggest certain wind structures may be lining up ahead of tornadic mesovortices, researchers say.

More actionable findings may emerge in coming years .

VR Score

91

Informative language

94

Neutral language

30

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

53

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

medium-lived

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